{"id":36144,"date":"2024-01-14T02:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T02:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=36144"},"modified":"2024-01-29T18:27:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T18:27:55","slug":"wayne-lapierre-leaves-a-financial-mess-behind-at-the-nra-%e2%88%92-on-top-of-the-legal-one-that-landed-him-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wayne-lapierre-leaves-a-financial-mess-behind-at-the-nra-%e2%88%92-on-top-of-the-legal-one-that-landed-him-in-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne LaPierre leaves a financial mess behind at the NRA \u2212 on top of the legal one that landed him in\u00a0court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brian Mittendorf<\/a>, The Ohio State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association\u2019s longtime leader, plans to retire by the end of January 2024<\/a>. He cited \u201chealth reasons<\/a>\u201d when he announced his departure three days before the organization\u2019s civil fraud trial<\/a> got underway in Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York authorities have accused the NRA<\/a>, LaPierre and three of his current or former colleagues of squandering millions of dollars the gun group had obtained from its members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a nonprofit accounting scholar<\/a> who has followed the NRA\u2019s finances<\/a> for years, I believe the organization is not only at a legal crossroads but also at a financial one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NRA business model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To see why the NRA finds itself in this difficult spot, it helps to first see how its business model allows for only a small margin of error. Despite the nonprofit\u2019s long history<\/a>\u2013 it was founded in 1871 by Civil War veterans who fought for the Union<\/a> \u2013 the NRA has never had enough money stowed away to inoculate it from financial problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the NRA\u2019s circumstances in terms of its unrestricted net assets<\/a>, which reflect the money an organization has available to spend after accounting for its commitments to donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing this with the scale of an organization\u2019s annual budget can provide a sense of how much of a rainy day fund is on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, the NRA had unrestricted net assets<\/a> that constituted just 9% of its total expenses. In contrast, that same year, the AARP, another long-standing social welfare organization<\/a> with millions of members, had unrestricted net assets<\/a> that amounted to 87% of its expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the NRA\u2019s coffers reflected a circumstance more in line with an employee living paycheck to paycheck than an heir living off a trust fund. For this reason, the NRA has always relied on its members\u2019 annual dues to cover its costs, and it is less able to weather financial storms that can last years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The controversies over the NRA\u2019s spending<\/a> and the organization\u2019s political entanglements that have swirled around<\/a> since 2016 constitute that kind of turbulence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Declining financial fortunes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following its substantial spending spree during the 2016 election cycle, the NRA found itself needing to dig out of a hole, with a budget deficit of more than US$40 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequent years saw fluctuations in spending<\/a> along with ongoing challenges to generate sufficient revenues<\/a> to keep up with spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the organization\u2019s approach to its budget shortfall has been to cut costs, or at least some of its costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending on programming went from nearly $176 million in 2017<\/a> to just $73 million in 2022<\/a>, its most recent reporting year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its traditionally core programs have taken the biggest hit: Spending on education and training fell from $7.7 million<\/a> to $3.2 million<\/a>; law enforcement support dropped from $3.8 million<\/a> to $1.8 million<\/a>; recreational shooting slipped from $7.2 million<\/a> to $5.1 million<\/a>; and field services declined from $11.9 million<\/a> to $1.3 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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